Kentucky falls in brutal fashion to Auburn 75-74 on the road

On Saturday, Kentucky hit the road to face the Auburn Tigers in what was a very pivotal game for both teams. As for the Wildcats, they were coming off a game where they dropped one at home to a desperate Georgia team. With Auburn, they came in after losing their last five, looking to get a win in a literal must-win situation with their tournament hopes on the line.

With everything at stake for Auburn and Kentucky having their backs against the wall once again, the Wildcats fell in brutal fashion, 75-74, in the final seconds, thanks to a tip-in by the Tigers with one second left. In the first half, foul trouble and physicality bothered Kentucky early, as Auburn's aggressiveness boded well for them. The Tigers led by as much as six in the first half, but Kentucky took advantage late, as Auburn ended up going six minutes without making a field goal, including ending the half on a three-minute scoring drought and finishing just 2-14 overall. That ended up costing them big, as Kentucky took a four-point lead into the half. Despite foul trouble and all of the sloppiness early, the Wildcats found themselves in a good spot at halftime after they flipped the switch, in large part thanks to Otega Oweh, who had twelve of his season-high 29 points in the first half.

In the second half, Kentucky started with a quick 7-0 run, looking to continue pulling away, but things began to get real interesting against a desperate Auburn team. Following Auburn's scoring drought that stretched from the two halves, Kentucky ended up having a drought of their own after going up by six with ten minutes left in the game. Kentucky went on a brutal four-minute drought that saw Auburn go on an 11-2 run. The Wildcats went nearly six minutes themselves without a field goal and against a team that struggles guarding the three, they struggled to take advantage. On top of that, Auburn was much more efficient scoring at the rim than in the first half. Auburn went on a 10-0 run late to go up 57-53 with 7:34 left. The Wildcats then tied it with 1:52 left as the guards made multiple big plays to stay in it. But, a brutal foul by Kentucky ended up costing them as Auburn scored on a tip-in in the final seconds on their last chance to score.

Unbelievable.

Collin Chandler does push off, but is held prior to the inbounds pass. Neither called 95%+ of the time in the final seconds.

Officials inserting themselves, affecting the outcome. pic.twitter.com/1vrHEA4VIo
— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) February 22, 2026

Once again, Kentucky was forced to respond in a major way, but collapsed in the final seconds. This one is just a brutal way to lose. Kentucky responds late, going up by three in the final minute, just to blow it off of Auburn's last offensive play of the game thanks to a foul giving them the extra possession, which turned into three thanks to two offensive rebounds.

Kentucky has now lost three-straight SEC games for the first time since 2021. Up next, the Wildcats will continue their road trip and head to South Carolina to play the Gamecocks, who have struggled mightily this season. A must-win game now awaits in Columbia on Tuesday with Kentucky now at 17-10 on the season.